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Expat’s Feelings

Being an expat made me feel like I have learnt so many life lessons more than I would have learnt throughout my entire life. Living as an expat is very challenging. It is either you try to enjoy your new lifestyle or keep yourself overwhelmed with negative feelings. You will still feel homesick, but I mean not to let it control your life. I remember I wrote a blog on my birthday about the lessons I have learnt on my 29th birthday ( Things I’ve learned before turning 30 ). I remember some considered the things I have learnt is too much for my age, but they didn’t put into consideration that I am an expat. I believe that this helped me learn a lot of things in a very short time.

The first thing that I have learnt the most throughout this journey is how to be Independent. how to do everything on your own. At first, I was very worried how I would take care of my 2 months old daughter all by myself without any help. I could say that within few months it was even harder for me to accept any help. I am already doing everything all by myself perfectly and I am enjoying it. I simply made for myself a routine and everything went smoothly afterwards. I have to add that not only me but my kids as well. Being an expat mom made me raise my kids to be more independent. For example, My kids now know that after playing with their toys, they know that they have to clean up the mess and put everything back to its place. It is actually very funny when I hear my two years old son saying ” Ness, Ness” after playing.

The second thing is how to cope with pressure and accept change. Life is full of Ups and Downs, every now and then me and my husband are facing a new challenge either in our personal life or in his job. At first, we would have panicked, struggled with whatever we are facing and not knowing what to do. But nowadays, we became more matured. We look at things differently and we have learnt how to cope with these difficulties and turn it into life lessons to learn from.

The third thing is I have learnt to search for my hobbies and enrich it. When we first came to Qatar I had a lot of free time. I didn’t want to apply for any job because I wanted to enjoy motherhood to the most. I didn’t want to miss any special minute with my daughter. So I decided to read more Human Resources books ” I was majored in HR” and enrich my knowledge. I started to buy HR and Human Development books and write in a notebook a review about this book. Also, I started to watch drawings videos on YouTube and learn how to draw mandala properly.

The fourth thing is that life is way simpler than we think. A privilege about living in Qatar, is that you face so many cultures. This made me look to life differently and see things from a whole new perspective. It made me appreciate everything I have and become less possessive and materialistic. I now want to learn new things more than owning new things. It made me want to explore more about new cultures and more welcoming to new things. I now know how to embrace new things. As a human nature, we are always afraid from change and feel reluctant to it. After almost six years, I know that everyday is a whole different experience and we never know what is coming next.

At the end, I have to say that living away from your family and country is not an easy experience in the beginning. But I am so grateful and thankful for this opportunity and this journey. It is challenging yet enjoyable.